5 Benefits of Using Cloud-Based Energy Management in Critical Facilities

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Over the last 15 years, the internet has transformed our world by creating the possibility for infinite connectivity between people, ideas, services, and more. Now, the emerging Internet of Things (IoT) is again transforming our potential for connectivity, efficiency, and the way we live life and do business.

In the age of the cloud, everything that generates data has the potential to be linked to the vast web of information. In some industries, like critical facility management, cloud connectivity offers enhanced system monitoring that can save energy, products, and in some cases, lives.

Having access to real-time monitoring of building systems, including energy usage, can ensure that all processes are in compliance with legal and organizational regulations. And when you work in a critical facility where your products depend on constant and rigorously maintained conditions, it's vital that those conditions remain within compliance at all times.

In the long run, using cloud-based energy management to ensure compliance will help your facility be safer, smarter, and more efficient. While the possibilities for universal connectivity are as limitless as your creativity, here are five key benefits that you will see immediately when you manage and monitor your critical facility's systems via the cloud.

1.Create a safer facility.

Does your facility have critical heating or cooling needs? Would an unplanned outage or fluctuation in energy use be costly or even hazardous? Would a gas leak or power surge be dangerous?

With cloud-based monitoring, you'd be notified immediately in any of these scenarios. Not only will you be able to detect and prevent common dangers, but you'll also be notified immediately if your usage deviates from the norm in any way. Subtle deviations can be used to predict device failure, which can save thousands of dollars in maintenance costs. When a device begins to use more energy, perhaps an internal failure is requiring this increased draw. As a result, predictive maintenance becomes possible.

2. Protect your product.

In the case of hospitals, food storage and agricultural facilities, or pharmaceutical warehouses, keeping products within specific temperature ranges is vital to their preservation. In instances of tissue storage in hospitals, for example, unplanned deviation from specified temperatures can literally cost lives. In other cases, such as food storage, temperature deviations can lead to massive waste and crippling costs.

When you're able to track the energy usage of specific subsystems, you can gain real insight into your usage patterns. You see where the drains are and where the inefficiencies are. For instance, with monitoring, you'll be able to closely align your output to your usage and build smarter automation systems for devices like lights, climate control systems, and more. Devices or systems that are creating energy drains can be identified and, if necessary, altered. Collecting and analyzing usage data over time is what will allow you to create streamlined, ultra-efficient systems.

4. Boost your bottom line.

When you have the ability to do predictive maintenance, decrease waste, enhance efficiency and eliminate safety hazards, you'll see substantial gains in profit over time.

5. Easy reporting to regulatory agencies.

Because you have electronic logs of energy usage and system data, making reports to regulatory agencies is as easy as clicking a button.